Hunters in the Southern Zone of New York will be going afield on Saturday for the start of the regular big game season. In Dutchess County, hunters may use shotguns, black powder rifles, crossbows and pistols. They may also continue to hunt with their archery equipment if they are so inclined.

New York state hunters harvested 203,427 whitetail deer and 1,420 black bears during the 2017 seasons. Dutchess County Hunters took 2,335 deer and 17 black bears. Hunters I have been speaking to are predicting that the harvest for both deer and bears will be higher this year.

Although New York does not have a mandatory blaze orange law, I strongly encourage every hunter to be safe and wear at least something in blaze orange.

If you hunt from a tree stand, I suggest that you use a safety harness. New York has started tracking falls from tree stands and the numbers are scary. While one person died as a result of a Hunting Related Shooting Incident last season, six people died of falls from tree stands. Proper use of a safety harness and thorough inspection of your tree stand before climbing into it could avoid most, if not all of the falls.

There were 19 Hunting Related Shooting Incidents across the state, including the one fatal last season. Hunting is a safe sport, but it takes only a split second for an incident to unfold that ends with an injury or death. Here a few basic rules of gun safety:

Assume every gun is loaded

Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction

Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire

Be sure of your target and beyond

Wear hunter orange or bright pink

Let’s hope we can get through the season with no fatal accidents this year.

ECOs get new boss

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos has announced the appointment of Captain Bernard "Bernie" Rivers to the position of Director of the DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement (DLE).

Rivers was appointed acting division director in March following the retirement of former Director Joseph Schneider. Immediately prior to being appointed as acting division director, Rivers served in DEC's Central Office in Albany as the head of DLE's Office of Professional Standards.

As DLE Director, Rivers will lead 289 Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) across the state. ECOs are tasked with safeguarding the state's natural resources and enforcing the Environmental Conservation Law that protects fish and wildlife and environmental quality.

Seggos said, "Director Rivers is an experienced conservation officer, and like the men and women he leads, he demonstrates tremendous resolve to uphold our mission to protect New York's environment, natural resources and wildlife and the public.

"In the time Bernie Rivers served as acting director he impressed me with both his leadership skills and his dedication and commitment to DEC and our Division of Law Enforcement," he said.

Rivers, 55, is 1981 graduate of Minisink Valley High School and has more than 37 years of law enforcement experience, the last 27 years as an ECO. Rivers began his career in law enforcement as an state corrections officer. He also served as a part-time police officer in Mount Hope, Wallkill, Chester and Montgomery police departments.

He graduated from DLE's 9th Basic School in 1992 and has served in several positions as an ECO in Long Island, New York City and the Hudson Valley — based in Region 3 Headquarters in New Paltz — including stints as a uniformed officer, investigator, and as both a regional lieutenant and supervising captain. Rivers has also graduated from Empire State College and the FBI National Academy.

Rivers said this has been the job and career he’s wanted since his senior year of high school when he first met an EECO who spoke to his law enforcement class at Orange/Ulster County BOCES.

Bill Conners of the Federation of Fish and Game Clubs writes on outdoors issues in Players. Email: conners@billconners.net